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Recent Posts
- Rare Earth updates: recent research on why complex & intelligent life are rare in the Universe
- Book review of “Chip War” and the Fragility of microchips
- The tremendous material and energy toll of the digital economy
- Nuclear attack on U.S. could kill 90% of Americans
- What percent of Americans are rational?
- Book review of Lights Out. A Cyberattack. A Nation Unprepared. Surviving the Aftermath
- Off-Road vehicles & equipment need diesel fuel
- Book review of “Prime Movers of Globalization: the History & Impact of Diesel Engines & Gas Turbines”
- Mental Health. Coping with the future: notes from Jackson & Jensen’s “An Inconvenient Apocalypse”
- Tesla Semi trucks hauling corn chips
- What is the plan for an electric grid outage that lasts for months?
- Where to be? Links to Superfund, hazardous waste and other toxic sites in U.S.
- Why methanol cannot replace petroleum in shipping
- Why is everyone afraid of AI taking over? It makes stuff up!
- Do you want to eat, drink, or fly?
Monthly Archives: February 2020
Wind, solar, and natural gas are driving nuclear power out of business
Preface. I’m no fan of nuclear power because we may already be at peak uranium, there’s nowhere to store nuclear waste, and a spent nuclear pool fire could harm millions of people. But renewable wind and solar and natural gas … Continue reading
Getting Arctic oil and natural gas will take decades or more
Preface. Only one exploratory well can be drilled in the short arctic summers, and many more need to be drilled to even find and then explore the size of a potential oil field to see if it is worth extracting. … Continue reading
Posted in Arctic
Tagged arctic oil, drilling, ice
Comments Off on Getting Arctic oil and natural gas will take decades or more
MIT: Why the electric-car revolution may take a lot longer than expected
Preface. This study from MIT explains why price parity of electric and gasoline vehicles is likely to take a lot longer than 5 years, and perhaps never if cars continue to depend on lithium-ion batteries. Deeper cost declines beyond 2030 … Continue reading
Charles Hall: politicians and economy do best when oil is cheap
Preface. Politicians claim credit for a good economy, but what makes an economy prosperous? Cheap oil. During Trump’s reign “relatively cheap oil and gas are keeping the U.S. economy strong. But this cheap oil and gas is being partially subsidized … Continue reading
Russia has been bombarding Ukraine with fake news since 2014. Sound familiar?
Preface. Long before Russia bombarded the U.S. with fake news in the 2016 election campaign, Ukraine was the target, where Russia honed its propaganda skills. The parallels with their fake news assault on the U.S. are striking, perhaps if more … Continue reading
Posted in Critical Thinking, Oil shock collapse, Politics
Tagged critical thinking, fake news, propaganda, Russia, Ukraine
2 Comments
Fox news estranges millions of families and instills hate and fear in its cult members
Preface. This is a book review that has key excerpts of “Foxocracy”, by Tobin Smith, who worked at Fox for 14 years and was friends with Roger Ailes as well as the staff that decided what the propaganda of the … Continue reading
Posted in Critical Thinking, Political Books, Politics
Tagged critical thinking, cult, Fox news, Republican, Trump
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Nothing is true & everything Is possible: the surreal heart of the new Russia by Peter Pomerantsev
Preface. In light of how greatly Russia influenced the election of Trump, it’s worth reading this book to see how Russia has used propaganda to control their own people, keep Putin in office, and in general how the rule of … Continue reading
Posted in Corruption & Finance, Critical Thinking, Financial
Tagged critical thinking, Russia
7 Comments
The shocking truth about life in Saudi Arabia: Oppression, conformity, & poverty
Preface. Saudi Arabia produces 1 in 4 barrels of oil. Their fate will affect all of us as energy declines. Yet most Saudis are poor despite the $400 billion in income from oil. They lack decent homes, health care, sanitation, … Continue reading
Posted in Travel
Tagged conformity, oil, religion, saudi arabia, women
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William Rees: Memo from a Climate Crisis Realist: The Choice before Us
Preface. I’m going to put Rees’ conclusion of 11 things to do first (rather than the Green New Deal, which can’t possibly work), followed by his arguments for why this needs to be done (if you haven’t read part 1 … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change, Expert Advice, Experts
Tagged climate change, degrowth, energy, green new deal
5 Comments
William E. Rees: Don’t Call Me a Pessimist on Climate Change. I Am a Realist
Preface. William E. Rees is professor emeritus of human ecology and ecological economics at the University of British Columbia. He’s one of my favorite ecological writers and has written about energy, limits to growth, overshoot, sustainability and other ecological topics … Continue reading